Pasco teacher accused of trying to entice teens

By TBO.com staff

Published: March 17, 2014

A Pasco County teacher is facing federal charges after allegedly trying to entice two girls in Belize into sex.

David Wendel Thompson, 48, of Seffner teaches social studies at Centennial Middle School, according to the school’s website. If convicted, Thompson faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and up to a maximum penalty of life in federal prisonsaid U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III . Thompson is being held in Miami.

According to the criminal complaint, in February, Thompson had sexually explicit conversations on Facebook with a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old female in Belize. In those conversations, he discussed flying to Belize to meet the minors and engage in sexual activity with them, the complaint said.

On Friday, Thompson took a flight from Tampa to Belize City, Belize, with a layover in Miami. He was refused entry into Belize, however, and arrested in the Miami International Airport, Bentley said.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division.